1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to modular storage systems, and more particularly, to customizable modular storage assemblies capable of expansion either vertically or horizontally through fixed or pivoted connections and include a variety of inserts.
2. Description of the Related Art
Storage systems adapted to store and display jewelry and other household items are known. However, the current state of the art in storage systems have some significant drawbacks. Most storage cabinets are fixed or limited in the amount of items and types of items that can be stored in the cabinet. The consumer has to work with what is provided for in the cabinet. This can result in unused and wasted space for some types of items or not enough storage space for other types of items. Another problem is once the cabinet is filled, there is no way to add a small amount more of storage space causing the consumer to resort to multiple places for storage of similar items and disorganization. In other cases, the cabinets are of a size that will not fit in the space that is available to the consumer. Still another problem is that most cabinets do not allow the consumer to rearrange and order how items are stored in the cabinets and how many of a certain type of item can be stored.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,001 discloses a jewelry closet that includes three portions hinged together in an accordion like fashion. The device can be mounted on a wall. However, the disclosed jewelry closet does not lend itself to a modular construction and does not allow for alternative configurations.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0108796 discloses a modular organizing system having one or more modular storage units for jewelry or personal accessory items. The modular organizing system also includes an interlocking system of mating ribs and depressions for allowing the modular storage units to be stacked and/or aligned horizontally and vertically. The disclosed system, however, exhibits limited customizability and flexibility for storing a wide variety of items.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2010/0224582 discloses a customizable and adjustable shelving assembly with an integral product display, providing an efficient storage system for items of merchandise products. Disadvantageously, the disclosed assembly exhibits a complex construction and is primarily suited for retail product display and not household storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,873 describes a “Cabinet for the Storage and Display of Jewelry”. The cabinet is customizable in that the drawers can be moved up and down to make more or less room for hooks for jewelry and the like. In that sense the drawers and hooks and their location are customizable. However, the disclosed cabinet exhibits only one configuration, and does not allow flexible expansion.
In addition to the references cited above, the following references also appear to be potentially relevant: U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,736; U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,446; U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0074857; U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,212; U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,650; U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,105; U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,300; U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,029; U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,936; U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,130; U.S. Pat. No. 6,926,136; Japanese Patent Publication No. JP2007006979.
None of the disclosed systems allow for fully customizable sizes and configurations. Therefore, there is a need for a modular storage system that provides flexibility for expansion and full customization of size, depth, and configuration of each module, of the overall system, and of the items to be stored.